7 Best Tips For International Flights

Don't let the beginning of the trip be the worst part

If you're new to this website and stumbled on it from Google or DuckDuckGo, then as a quick heads up, this is a travel blog for people looking to visit Italy. This means, a majority of the information is written as if you're American coming to visit Italy. None of the information is Italy-specific, but examples used will be as if this holds true. So, let's jump in!

There are maybe seven people in this world who enjoy long-haul (or international) flights, and most of those seven probably charter jets. There's very little to enjoy about being crammed into a metal tube with three hundred other people with about half-an-inch of leg room, an inch of recline, and a seat that is essentially a thin pillow taped to a metal plate.

As you can tell, I love flying.

I actually used to, but being based in two countries meant a lot of flying (as in, twice a year, which is a lot for most people given the fact that most people don't fly at all in a year). And I have seen flying go from bearable to absolutely unhinged. During that time, Darcy and I started figuring out ways to make flying more enjoyable. While some of these aren't one-size-fits-all, we think they're a pretty good starting place for most people.

And after all, if you're reading this as an American who is planning on coming to Italy, there's nothing worse than a bad flight to start the trip.

Just to be clear, none of these tips are going to be something like "upgrade your seat for extra space". Like, I assume you've already thought of that and you either don't have the money (welcome to the group) or space isn't the issue, but other comfort tricks are important.

Use A Credit Card

Weird first tip, I get it. It also doesn't relate to the flight itself, also true. But hear me out, what's more comfortable than peace of mind (I should really start writing slogans)? Credit cards, while unsavory to think about, can give a sense of security to a bad flight. Some credit cards, even non-travel cards, have basic travel insurance as long as you used that card to purchase the flights. For example, even though we use Capital One's Savor and Quicksilver card (those are sign-up links, do not sign up unless you are familiar with credit cards and credit checks), because we purchase some of our flights through Capital One Travel, they are protected if something were to go wrong. So while this isn't about physical comfort, it's still good to know that if we were to miss a flight, or if there was a cancellation, then we're covered.

Check Your Seat

Going back to the idea of "crammed in a metal tube with three hundred other people" it can pay to learn where your seat is. We use Seat Guru, but you can also just search the aircraft type, airline name, and "seat map". There are a few reasons for searching this. First, your seat might not be able to recline. The seats in front of the ext row, and seat near bulkheads typically can't recline (the first for safety reasons, the second for space). Not a huge issue given the fact that the recline on some seats are only an inch, but still, it can change a flight. Looking at a seat map can also tell you the position of the screens.

Taking a look at the photo, this is the tail end of an Airbus A330-900, part of Delta's fleet. Row 55 is a bit off-center from row 54 in front of it. While it's a minor detail, this means you'll be craning you neck to stare at the screen for the entire flight. This also brings up to our next tip.

Learn The Types of Planes

I realize this is a lot to ask for someone going on vacation, but I promise it's worth the effort.

As a rule of thumb, Boeing tends to put their seats in a 3-3-3 formation whereas Airbus often seats them 2-4-2. The major difference here is that if you're a couple traveling together, you don't have to worry about sitting next to a stranger if you fly Airbus. Likewise, if you're a family of four, you can all sit in the same row.

Conversely, if you're traveling alone, sometimes it's better to fly Boeing (or any 3-3-3 configuration) since you don't have to make awkward conversation with the single person next to you. Or, If you're a family of three, five, or more, then Boeing might be easier.

Seat size is also important. As a rule of thumb, Boeing planes tend to have 17.1 inches on their economy seats where Airbus has 18.2-18.3. While an inch might not make a huge difference, as someone who is built like a bookshelf and whose hip bones are WIDE, that inch is huge for me.

Finally, and something that feels so minor but can make the biggest difference is how the seats recline. Some planes, like the Boeing Dreamliner, have seats where the bottom slides forward as the back leans back. This means, the person behind you will gain legroom but lose "face room". Or, as someone with long legs (me), I love it when I gain that extra legroom. While I prefer to fly on Airbus, it's a pain when the person in front of me leans back since I have even less space between my face and the screen (roughly 12 inches).

Plane Air is Dry, Be Prepared

The air on a plane is dry. Like, desert-dry. And when you're staring wide-eye at a bright screen in the dark, it's only making them drier and more over-worked. Darcy and I finally decided to bring eyedrops and, wow, without a shred of sarcasm, what a game-changer. Especially going east from the States, I no longer arrive feeling like my eyes are bloodshot and barely functioning.

In this vein is nasal spray. Something super simple, like saline. My nose gets super dry on any random winter day, even more so in a plane. I've found that a single spray keeps my nose comfy for the entire flight.

Likewise, moisturizer, lip balm, etc. I know you're an adult, and you can take care of yourself. But a plane is really dry. Ask any flight attendant, they'll have a skin-care regimen a mile long to combat this. While you're only flying twice (once there and once back), dry skin can still be super uncomfortable, especially if you already have eczema or something similar. More than that, if you're flying from the States to Italy, then you're on a night flight. This means you're going to be arriving in the middle of the night (in your time), but bright and early in the morning in Italy, you're both hungry and weirdly full from the dinner they served at midnight (your time), your skin is dry and cracking, your eyes bloodshot, and everything feels weird. This is all an effort to get off the plane and feel somewhat okay.

Noise-Cancelling Headphones

I do realize this is on everyone's list. Now, I'm not saying you have to buy the pair of $300 Sony or Bose that everyone recommends which the not-so-subtle Amazon links.

I also don't mean a cheaper pair like the $50 Anker Soundcore headphones that may or may not break in a few months (if you have a big head, they will break, if you don't, they'll last a while). We each bought a pair of these a few years ago, and while my watermelon-sized head has broken the plastic from over-stretching, the noise-cancelling still works like a charm.

Noise-cancelling doesn't have to be active (as in, those headphones listed above). A pair of regular over-the-ear headphones will work fine. The goal here is two-fold. One, cut down on some of that noise whether it's from people talking, babies crying, engine noise, or anything else. Nothing will be perfect, but that's okay, it's only a few hours. The second reason is far simpler: hearing damage. As someone with tinnitus (apparently, bad neck and back posture can lead to tinnitus, so watch out y'all!) who was terrified his tinnitus came from hearing damage, I did a mountain of research (as in, I looked on the Internet briefly). Some of my fear stemmed from the fact that people who use earbuds on a flight can sustain more hearing damage than normal since earbuds don't often have noise-cancelling so you (or, in this case, I) turn up the volume even louder in order to hear the show. Granted, I'm not the smartest person in the room at any given time. But I thought that, somehow, loud noises just, maybe, cancelled each other out? I didn't realize that blasting a movie through earbuds at a volume I would normally find deafening would cause the same amount of damage regardless of noise going on around me. So, I immediately swapped earbuds for over-the-ear headphones (ones for big heads) and I've been super happy ever since.

As one last addition, earplugs can also make a flight pleasant if you don't have noise-cancelling headphones. It's not the same thing at all, but I use Loop earplugs (reusable, they kind of look like wireless earbuds) with over-ear headphones on top. This helps cut out a lot of the noise while still allowing me to hear the movie.

Wipes

Hand wipes, body wipes, wipes of any kind can be pretty helpful. Dirty hands from the airport? Hand wipes. Feeling somehow cold and sweaty at the same time? Body wipes? Want to arrive to your destination feeling a little fresher and put-togethor? We found that wipes were the way to go. Not just for flights, but for long train rides as well.

What about neck pillows?

Honestly, I don't think I've ever heard of someone who said "I love my neck pillow! It fits perfectly and I didn't have to buy 30 different pillows to find the perfect one!". While this sounds sarcastic, I get the impression there are a pile of terrible neck pillow out there that were never tested on someone with an actual neck. Then there are like four that seems really good, but they're a serious investment, and if they aren't perfect for you, then good luck returning a used neck pillow.

So if you can try on a neck pillow before committing, go for it! Otherwise, try just bringing a small travel pillow.

And there you have it! Our tips for an international flight. Of course, there are other little tricks out there, but we've found these to be the most consistent, and prioritizing minor comforts over shelling out the money for major seat upgrades allows us to arrive feeling refreshed and happy.